Myths & Facts about People with Disabilities
Everybody’s fighting some kind of stereotype, and people with disabilities are no exception. The difference is that barriers people with disabilities face begin with people's attitudes-attitudes often rooted in misinformation and misunderstanding about what it’s like to live with a disability.
MYTH: People with disabilities are brave and courageous.
FACT: Adjusting to a disability requires adapting to a lifestyle, not bravery and courage.
MYTH: All persons who use wheelchairs are chronically ill or sickly.
FACT: The association between wheelchair use and illness may have evolved through
hospitals using wheelchair to transport sick people. A person may use a wheelchair
for a variety of reasons, none of which may have anything to do with a lingering
illness.
MYTH: Wheelchair use is confining: people who use wheelchairs are “wheelchair bound.”
FACT: A wheelchair, like a bicycle or an automobile, is a personal assistive device that
enables someone to get around.
MYTH: People with disabilities are more comfortable with “their own kind”.
FACT: In the past, grouping people with disabilities in separate schools and institutions
reinforced this misconception. Today many people with disabilities take advantage of
new opportunities to join mainstream society.
MYTH: Non-disabled people are obligated to “take care of” people with disabilities.
FACT: Anyone may offer assistance, but most people with disabilities prefer to be
responsible for themselves.
MYTH: The lives of people with disabilities are totally different than the lives of people
without disabilities.
FACT: Many people with disabilities go to school, get married, work, have families, do
laundry, grocery shop, laugh, cry, pay taxes, get angry, vote, plan and dream like
everyone else.
MYTH: People with disabilities always need help.
FACT: Many people with disabilities are independent and capable of giving help. If you
would like to help someone with a disability, ask if he or she needs it before you act.
MYTH: There is nothing one person can do to help eliminate the barrier confronting people
with disabilities.
FACT: Everyone can contribute to change. You can help remove barriers by:
~ Understanding the need for accessible parking and leaving it for those in need
~ Encouraging participation of people with disabilities in community activities by using
accessible meeting and event sites
~ Understanding children’s curiosity about disabilities and people who have them
~ Advocating a barrier –free environment
~ Speaking up when negative words or phrases are used about disabilities
~ Writing producers and editors a note of support when they portray someone with a
disability as a “regular person” in the media
~ Accepting people with disabilities as individuals capable of the same needs and
feelings as yourself, and hiring qualified disabled persons whenever possible.
